Imaging and other electronic devices often include optoelectronic components to sense or generate various types of light. Some of these components, such as light-emitting diodes, are capable of generating large amounts of light in response to application of a corresponding level of electrical current. In other words, energy output of the optoelectronic component is based in part on the electrical current applied to the component's PN junction. The light emitted from the component, however, comprises only a portion of this energy. The remaining energy is released as heat due to electrical and optical losses of the device.
Thermal resistance of optoelectronic component packaging is typically high (e.g., 70 or 80° K/W), which impedes the transfer of the heat out of the component. As such, heat generated during component operation that does not leave the packaging contributes to an increase in the component's overall temperature. For high-output optoelectronic components, this temperature increase typically occurs quickly due to the large amounts of current passing through the component. Because high temperatures effect component performance or reliability, operation of many optoelectronic components is thermally limited (e.g., reduced on-time or operating current) to maintain light-output specifications and prevent component damage.